Inferno: A Novel

In the heart of Italy, Harvard professor of symbology, Robert Langdon, is drawn into a harrowing world centered on one of history’s most enduring and mysterious literary masterpieces: Dante’s Inferno. Against this backdrop, Langdon battles a chilling adversary and grapples with an ingenious riddle that pulls him into a landscape of classic art, secret passageways, and futuristic science. Drawing from Dante’s dark epic poem, Langdon races to find answers and decide whom to trust...before the world is irrevocably altered.

Fall of Giants: The Century Trilogy, Book 1

Ken Follett's World Without End was a global phenomenon, a work of grand historical sweep beloved by millions of readers and acclaimed by critics. Fall of Giants is his magnificent new historical epic. The first novel in The Century Trilogy, it follows the fates of five interrelated families - American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh - as they move through the world-shaking dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women's suffrage.

The Lion's Game

To survive in a game with no rules at all, John Corey must invent a strategy that includes no luck at all. He and the Anti-Terrorist Task Force must stop "The Lion," an alleged Libyan terrorist with the instincts of a wild animal, the bloodlust of a carnivore, and the boldness and speed of a cat of prey.

Im not sure I like the play between first person and third person grammar throughout the book when switching between hero and villain narrative. The nonstop NYC cop smart-alec quipping of John Corey is annoying, not clever. The books in this series feel too much alike, so despite strong narration I'm not overly enthusiastic with this rating.

Night Fall

Five years after the crashof TWA Flight 800, the government has declared it a result of mechanical failure. But John Corey, an ex-NYPD detective who is now a contract agent with the Federal Anti-Terrorist Task Force, is persuaded by Kate Mayfield, his wife and task force partner, that the case deserves a second look.

Having listened to Mayday by this author recently, I was disappointed to find some of the same plot lines in this book. I was willing to accept the storyline of analog audiovideo technology so central to the drama of this book, however the author could not overcome the slow pace and what i thought were fairly unimaginative developments. After some build up towards the end, I found the conclusion to be thoroughly unsatisfying, almost farcical.

Spellbound: Book II of the Grimnoir Chronicles

Dark fantasy goes hardboiled in Book II of the hard-hitting Grimnoir Chronicles by the New York Times best-selling creator of Monster Hunter International. The Grimnoir Society’s mission is to protect people with magic, and they’ve done so—successfully and in secret—since the mysterious arrival of the Power in the 1850s, but when a magical assassin makes an attempt on the life of President Franklin Roosevelt, the crime is pinned on the Grimnoir.

Mayday

Twelve miles above the Pacific Ocean, a missile strikes a jumbo passenger jet and leaves the flight crew either crippled or dead. This is the story of how three survivors must achieve the impossible and land the plane. Master storyteller Nelson DeMille and veteran pilot Thomas Block collaborated on Mayday, the most terrifyingly realistic air disaster thriller of all time. Also available abridged.

Whenever I make a long road trip I carefully select a book that will grab my attention to the point where I can drive the 1200 miles between Maryland and Miami nonstop. At about a third way through the book I was ready to give it 2 stars partly because of the spoiler effect of reading the review from an enthusiastic listener from Texas (Mayday is Magnificent) that gave away far too much plot, as well as what I thought were the misrepresentations of the acute effects of oxygen deprivation which grated on the sensibilities of my professional medical training. Either the research was poor, or the author resorted to journalistic license. Additionally, with the plot focused mainly on a single aircraft, the drama felt constricted for a while. I got easily distracted till near the midway point, and then became engrossed. Although rather predictable with no shock revelations nor surprising plot twists, the 2nd half moves along briskly enough, with good intersecting lines that were rather well juxtaposed. I thought the terse tone and inflections of the narrator were forceful and convincing, and for me his performance was as strong as the story, which eventually was entertaining enough to keep me awake through all night driving without caffeine. I would have given the story 5 stars but the fantastical characterizations of anoxia were a stretch, and writing that was just a bit too colorful for me to ignore; nevertheless overall very entertaining, and highly recommended.

Suspect

LAPD cop Scott James is not doing so well, not since a shocking nighttime assault by unidentified men killed his partner, Stephanie, nearly killed him, and left him enraged, ashamed, and ready to explode. He is unfit for duty - until he meets his new partner. Maggie is not doing so well, either. The German shepherd survived three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan sniffing explosives before she lost her handler to an IED and sniper attack, and her PTSD is as bad as Scott’s. They are each other’s last chance.

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